#51d

[americaspace]

'Winging It': 30 Years Since the Dramatic Rescue of Mission 51I (Part 1)

‘Winging It’: 30 Years Since the Dramatic Rescue of Mission 51I (Part 1)

In a triumphant ending to a triumphant space salvage, James “Ox” van Hoften strikes a Charles Atlas pose on the end of the shuttle’s RMS mechanical arm, seemingly hoisting the world on his shoulders. Photo Credit: NASA When Discovery touched down at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on 19 April 1985—suffering seized brakes and a burst tire in the…

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[americaspace]

'It's Gonna Be Great': 30 Years Since Shuttle Mission 51D (Part 1)

‘It’s Gonna Be Great': 30 Years Since Shuttle Mission 51D (Part 1)

Spacewalkers Jeff Hoffman and Dave Griggs work to outfit a makeshift fly swatter onto the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) mechanical arm, in a fruitless attempt to activate Syncom 4-3’s deploy switch. Photo Credit: NASA

None of the 135 missions flown by NASA’s five-strong fleet of shuttle orbiters between April 1981 and July 2011 could ever be classified as “routine” and all contributed greatly…

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[americaspace]

Repair and Salvage: The First 50 Years of Spacewalking (Part 4)

Repair and Salvage: The First 50 Years of Spacewalking (Part 4)

During his historic untethered EVA with the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) on 7 February 1984, Bruce McCandless ventured as far as 300 feet (90 meters) from Challenger. Photo Credit: NASA

Ironically, the spacecraft from which the most Extravehicular Activities (EVAs) were performed—the space shuttle—was not originally intended to carry the capability for spacewalking at all. “The NASA perspective…

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[a-melhormetade]

"E o sol que me embalou nos braços, achei calor em seu abraço, meu pobre coração sorriu..." 💟 #51d